The situation in Sudan grows more precarious as the days go on. Eerily reminiscent of Afghanistan in Fall 2021, Canadian nationals and diplomatic staff are caught in a deteriorating situation, relying mostly on foreign allies to evacuate them to safer harbours. Evacuators faced another setback over the weekend, being forced to end their efforts because of escalating violence in the region.
Canada has long aspired to play a more prominent role in assisting during international emergencies, but time and again, we seem to lack the tools to adequately respond. The Prime Minister recently conveyed to the Americans that Canada will not meet NATO military spending targets, while leaked documents from the United States suggest a number of our international allies and beneficiaries are growing frustrated over Canada’s inability to address military and humanitarian crises.
The crisis in Sudan has recently sprung up in news coverage, with warring military and paramilitary forces spiraling toward civil war—evaporating hopes of a democratic government in the aftermath of the uprising that saw their autocratic ruler turfed in 2019. However, intelligence officials have stated that detailed briefings on the deteriorating situation have been going on for weeks. So, what has taken Canada so long to respond?
A hint can be found in Budget 2023, Chapter 5, on defence and military spending. With only 1.29 percent of GDP allocated to defence spending, we are spending less on defence than we have in recent years. Antiquated equipment, shortages of staff and new recruits—these are just a few of the issues plaguing Canada’s Armed Forces, making it more and more difficult for them to respond when a crisis crops up.
In the heady days of 2015, basking in a post-election majority government glow, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau proudly declared that “Canada was back” on the international scene. Since then, Canada has failed to secure a seat on the UN Security Council, has consistently missed its defence spending targets, and has now faced at least two emergencies where Canadians have been slow to help their citizens. The situation in Sudan is reminiscent of the beleaguered evacuation efforts in Afghanistan, when the withdrawal of American troops from that country precipitated the almost immediate takeover by the Taliban. At that time, hundreds of Canadians and diplomatic staff were stranded without evacuation, relying on the Americans and others to get them out to safety. Many more Afghans who supported Canada’s military efforts in the region during our deployment were either put in immediate danger as they tried to flee, or were left to find their own assistance.
Without a change to funding or preparedness, it is difficult to foresee how the Canadian Armed Forces finds a better way to respond to military and humanitarian emergencies. While a change to the status quo may seem daunting (and expensive), Canada’s efforts in Ukraine prove that we can punch above our weight – when there’s political will to do so. Whether it be with updated equipment, adequate intelligence, or the funding they need to be able to recruit and train new members, Canada must step up our defence and security efforts so that Canadians abroad don’t have to worry about a government that’s just not ready to help them out when they need it. Political watchers will be closely looking at the forthcoming Defence Policy Update to see how Canada is, or isn’t changing gears to meet these increased needs.